A look at San Jose retiree health perks

The average yearly pension for retirees who worked a full 31-year career for San Jose is $68,664 for most employees and $104,112 for officers and firefighters, including annual 3 percent raises.

Retirees who worked 15 or more years get full premium coverage for the cheapest city employee health plan. That used to be a Kaiser HMO plan with $25 co-payments to see a doctor. But the city now has a Kaiser plan with $1,500 deductibles, $40 doctor-visit co-payments and premium costs 24 percent lower than the Kaiser HMO.

The total unfunded retirement liability -- the gap between current funds and projected costs -- is $2.9 billion, of which more than a third, $1.1 billion, is for retiree health benefits.

The city's yearly retirement payment for the coming year is $266 million, up from $242 million. Of that, $44 million, about a sixth, is for health benefits.

The deductible health plan reduced unfunded retirement debt by about $400 million and the city's yearly cost by $12.5 million, $6.5 million of that in the general fund.

The city's pension plan is 62 percent funded for most workers, 79 percent for police and firefighters. The city's retiree health benefit is 19 percent funded for most workers, 11 percent for police and firefighters.